


The voice in you

by tinygiantsam



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Age Difference, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Anxiety, Blackmail, Blow Jobs, Bottom Peter Parker, Boys Kissing, Eventual Happy Ending, Gay Sex, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Light Petting, M/M, Mutual Pining, Non-Graphic Violence, Original Character(s), Possessive Tony Stark, Protective Tony Stark, Singing, Smoking, Starker, Surprise Kissing, Top Tony Stark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-04
Updated: 2019-06-04
Packaged: 2020-04-07 12:22:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19084945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinygiantsam/pseuds/tinygiantsam
Summary: Peter is a boy with a dream. Peter is a boy with a dream who's fortunately taken under Tony Stark’s wings (one of the greatest musicians in the world) after killing it in an audition for one of the only places that can make his talent worth a fortune. But what will happen when the mentor/menteé relationship ends in something else? And most importantly, what will happen when an opposing team finds out?





	The voice in you

**Author's Note:**

> Hey my loves!  
> My lovely art friend @iammagicfishhook (tumblr) and I have been working on this piece for months now and we are very proud to finally present it to you. I take credits for the words, she takes credits for the image.  
> It turned out to be a little longer than it was supposed to be, and the ending took a very different turn.  
> I remind you that comments, kudos and overall constructive criticism is our payment.  
> You can find me on tumblr: @starkerdayss

As soon as he got the thumbs up from the management guy, he started to make his way to the silent and overly dark scenario. His hand was so shaky that it was making the microphone he was holding shake as well.

‘Calm down’ he thought to himself, but the constant beating of his heart that he felt in his throat wasn’t making it any easier. He wished he could be relaxed about it, but the truth was, he was putting his only talent at the risk of being ripped away from him. Maybe he wasn’t as good as he thought he was. Maybe he had been lied to his whole life.

But maybe, _maybe_ it was all true.

When the stressing sound of his own steps finished, and he was finally standing on top of the mark on the floor, he closed his eyes. Maybe if he just pretended to still be in the shower, he could do this. Maybe if he pretended that he wasn’t performing for four of the greatest musicians in the world he could force his voice to work.

The lights were turned on, and now Peter was standing in front of maybe more than a thousand people and four chairs, four chairs that contained either his bright future or his definitive end.

Either way, he couldn’t keep stalling it, if he was there, he had to be brave. He brought the microphone close to his mouth and waited, knowing the guys that were in charge of sound could see him.

Peter waited for the inevitable. And finally, the song started.

He had to sing. Now.

_“Steve walks warily down the street_

_With the brim pulled way down low_

_Ain't no sound but the sound of his feet,_

_Machine guns ready to go_

_Are you ready, hey, are you ready for this?_

_Are you hanging on the edge of your seat?”_

The crowd started applauding, and he could feel the judges looking at each other, probably wondering if they should turn around or not.

_“Another one bites the dust_

_Another one bites the dust_

_And another one gone, and another one gone_

_Another one bites the dust_

_Hey, I'm gonna get you, too_

_Another one bites the dust”_

Peter knew they were all waiting for a part where he showed a little more of his vocal skills, and he was just about to give them that.

_“How do you think I'm going to get along_

_Without you when you're gone?”_

His heart almost stopped when Natasha pressed the button and her chair turned around, a very fake redhead appearing and applauding.

_“You took me for everything that I had_

_And kicked me out on my own”_

Anthony pressed the button next and Peter had to force himself to close his eyes, because he knew that if he saw him, the man he admired so much, the man he had been practically _stalking_ on social media his whole life, his voice was going to fail him. Steve didn’t wait a minute after Tony to press the button.

To say that Peter was overwhelmed was an understatement, but he had to carry on. He wanted to be a good singer and pressure was always a factor when it came to singing live and in front of so many people (specially the four important ones).

_“Another one bites the dust_

_Another one bites the dust oww_

_Another one bites the dust hey hey_

_Another one bites the dust eh eh”_

He sang his heart out on that last line, but instead of continuing it, he gave it his own touch and finished on a high note, but still, he didn’t get Wanda to turn around. Maybe Peter just wasn’t the talent she was looking for.

When he finished holding the note, everyone applauded, and Natasha and Tony stood up on their chairs, smiling at him as Wanda’s chair turned around automatically. Peter squatted down, covering his mouth with his hands. Had he actually done it? Had he gotten inside ‘The Voice’?

Slowly, the room started getting quieter and Peter finally stood up, once again his shaky hand making the microphone in it shake as well, but Peter smiled. It was okay to be nervous, specially because the adrenaline had helped him.

“Wow!” exclaimed Natasha, sitting once again. “Let’s give him another round of applause” and everyone complied, but Peter’s eyes drifted unconsciously towards Tony. The man who was clapping his hands as well, giving the boy a warm smile.

“What’s your name, sweetie?” asked Wanda.

“Hey, you have no right to speak” scolded Natasha, at which everyone laughed.

“Peter- Peter Parker, ma’am”

His voice was shaky and quite sore, probably from forcing it a little.

“You’ve got great voice control, Peter” slowly said Tony. Peter’s heart was on his throat again. The man himself was talking to him. “And it’s not like you were trying to impersonate Freddie Mercury, so I- I liked that little touch you gave it. It made the song your own. Great job”

“Thank you, sir” hurried to answer the boy, stumbling a little over his words. He would’ve been way more embarrassed about it if he didn’t feel like he was about to pass out on stage.

“Who are you here with, Peter?” interrupted Natasha.

The boy stayed silent for a second, the whole arena waiting for a response. “Um- I’m here alone. I didn’t want anyone to be disappointed if I failed” and then he tried to soothe it with laughter, but the judges just looked at him with pity.

Natasha, though, whispered: “I can make you win”

Steve laughed, then Tony spoke: “I can get you to the top being exactly who you are”

“It’s time to choose, Peter. Tony, Natasha or me, and I’m _obviously_ your best option” muttered Steve.

“Shove it” replied Tony.

Peter smiled to himself. He didn’t even have to think about the answer; he knew who he wanted, but out of respect for the judges, he waited to announce it.

“I’ve always looked forward to working with people that don’t care about what others think of them, because the art that they make is for _them._ I’ve always wanted to show who I was through music and passion, not stardom, so I… I choose Tony” he whispered, the microphone amplifying the shy sound. Tony stood up, flipped Steve off as everyone cheered and walked towards the stage, embracing Peter into a hug, making the boy’s head spin with admiration and confusion, but never taking away his big smile. He was going to get to work with the great Tony Stark.

Peter was so lucky.

 

* * *

 

The ride home was like waking up from a very exciting dream only to find out… you’re still the same boring person you were right before you went to sleep. His heart was still stammering, though, and there was a stark difference between the feeling he was feeling now, as the car moved slowly and silently, and the excitement he felt when he chose who his mentor was going to be.

He finally had some good news to tell Aunt May. She was going to be thrilled and Peter couldn’t wait any longer. But, when he got there, she wasn’t home, probably too busy with her new job. Peter then, decided to tell her when she arrived.

And it took hours, during which Peter just sat in front of the door and waited, looking at his phone every five seconds to see if she had answered the ‘emergency, come home!’ text that he had sent in a desperate rush about three hours ago.

But finally, the door opened and a very tired, yet still sassy May appeared, making Peter jump from the strategically placed chair he had been sitting on for the past five hours.

“May! May, you’re not gonna believe this. Okay, so I know I should have told you, but I didn’t want you to be disappointed. I mean, it’s not that I think you can be-”

“Tell me!” she screamed, already too excited to wait for Peter’s monologue to be over.

“I auditioned for ‘The Voice’ and I got in! My mentor is Tony.. Tony _Stark_!”

“Your idol?” she screamed back, letting the backpack she was carrying fall to the floor with a thud, her hands immediately going to her mouth, covering it.

Peter only nodded his head, his big eyes only getting bigger with the vision of everything he was about to live displaying over and over again on his mind. He didn’t have much time to keep thinking about it, though, because she practically threw herself on top of him and hugged him, making Peter think that if she was a tad stronger, she would’ve broken his spine.

Slowly, she pulled back when she heard the whining coming out of his nephew’s mouth. “When do you have to go there again?”

“Uh, in like a week or two… maybe less, they said they were gonna call when the blind auditions were over, so they could prepare us equally”

May nodded and hugged him again, more careful this time. “I’m making your favorite tonight. To celebrate” she said, finally pulling away, and taking the backpack that rested on the floor, leaving it on top of the couch, making her way towards the kitchen.

The boy could see how tired she was, so he also made his way towards the kitchen. “Have you forgotten that my favorite is ordering pizza and watching tv with my aunt?”

“You don’t have to protect me, Peter” she muttered.

“I know”

Silence. May sighed, then turned around to face her nephew. He was young, and he had all his life ahead of him.

“Okay, we’ll order pizza. But don’t put any fruits on it”

Peter laughed and went to find his phone, but instead of calling the pizza place like he was supposed to, he discovered he had a message from an unknown number, the notification bright and clear above his too-embarrassing lock screen of Tony Stark next to the winner of the past season.

It said: “Kiddo! Great work today, we’ll be messaging to coordinate. When I have the rest of my team, I’ll make a group”

Peter’s mouth dropped, his throat was suddenly dry, and his brain was trying to recover from an electroshock.

“Did you order it yet? Peter…? What happened?”

Peter turned around, slowly but surely, handing May the phone where the text was written. With the context that May already had, she should’ve known who it was, and the surprised yet pleased face she put two seconds after, demonstrated she did.

“How did you get his number? Isn’t he like really famous and powerful?”

Peter didn’t have to be reminded of that. He knew that. He knew practically everything about that man’s life.

“He- he texted me! Read the message, May, I- Am I texting Tony Stark now? I would- I would have auditioned years ago!”

May made a face that told Peter exactly what he needed to hear but wasn’t going to be told. He didn’t have the talent back then, and his obsession was borderline creepy. Okay. He needed to have a straight head if he was going to be working with Tony and eventually trying to win. He needed to be calm and professional.

He could do that.

Right?

 

* * *

 

Ten days later, Peter was on his way back to the studio, checking one, two, _three_ times the group chat that Tony had made with his team, because his anxiety was getting the best of him. What if he read wrong and he wasn’t supposed to go that day? What if he was the only one there?

Well, at least, if he embarrassed himself, Tony wasn’t going to be there to see him make a fool of himself.

He bit his lip nervously as he remembered some of his _very_ formal and short conversation with the man through the iPhone’s messages, as Peter pretended to be a complete and utter idiot so he could ask the man questions. Many, many questions. Unnecessary questions.

But the man was, as always, kind. He answered every question patiently. He did take a lot of time to answer, though (which Peter interpreted as the man being busy), and Peter would bite his nails off waiting for a response. Waiting for that final message that said that Tony had had enough, and Peter was being redirected to a person whose actual job was to answer these types of things, but it never happened.

Finally, the car pulled over and Peter (after paying), got out, looking like the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in terms of appearance, really standing out from all the other competitors. They were all dressed in either fancy or really exotic clothes, and Peter had barely had any time in the morning to fix his hair. He specially stood out from the girls, the majority of them having colored hair, very high heels and faces full of makeup. Peter looked… strangely normal.

Was that going to be the end of him?

He counted them quickly, and they were eight including Peter, so two must have been missing according to the number Tony gave out.

A pair of heels clacking made everyone turn around to find Tony being followed by a very short girl (even with heels) and a boy, presumably her brother because of the features they both shared, like the very prominent nose.

Peter’s eyes went to Tony, who was checking his phone and walking towards them, the man barely even taller than the girl who was so desperately trying to follow him. Peter gulped. This was it. Fit in or not, this was his team, and he knew he was going to love them, work with them, and finally, if Tony inspired him enough, beat them.

He smirked to himself as he approached the circle the group was forming. He had a lot of confidence in himself for a boy who looked like he had been a waiter all his life.

“My team” started Tony, putting his phone in his back pocket and looking around the eight teenagers (and two adults), stopping momentarily on each face to maybe try to remember their names. “Welcome home”

And maybe Peter had imagined it, or the highly unhealthy obsession he had for the man was making him hallucinate, but he could’ve sworn that Tony winked at him. It wasn’t flirty, of course not, it was more an act of complicity.

Did Peter Parker, the only contestant that didn’t look like he had a possibility to win, have a partner in crime that happened to be one of the most influential men in the world?

“Shall we go in?”

Everyone nodded, too scared to actually say anything to the king of music, and followed Tony through the door that led to a mini studio (clearly soundproof) with a piano in the middle and several other instruments at its sides. Peter was in awe. Was Tony going to sing for them?

He mentally rolled his eyes at himself. So many unnecessary questions.

“Before we move onto the next step, I want you all to be aware of each other’s talents. We compete against other teams, but eventually, you’ll compete against each other”

Silence.

“So, I want each and every one of you to sing something. The instruments are at your disposition”

The ten contestants looked at each other. Nobody wanted to go first, because either you set the bar real high, or real low. There was no in between.

After a few moments of doubt, a very skinny, very tall girl with short, pink hair raised her hand, batting her eyelashes at Tony. Peter felt a fiery jealousy lighting up inside him and he had to physically restrain himself from raising his own hand as he watched the girl walk to the center of the room and not give any warnings or pick up any instruments before starting.

Her voice was strong, maybe even too much for the song choice, and Peter was sure he had never heard ‘dancing on my own’ with a more powerful tone. He was sure that if the room had any windows, they’d be shaking.

“Thank you, my name is Carla Donovan” she muttered once she finished, the nine contestants and Tony applauding at her talent. The bar had been set high, that was for sure.

Peter looked down. He didn’t know if anyone else was going to volunteer, and he really didn’t want to go next. He knew he was somewhat talented, otherwise he wouldn’t be there, but he felt completely out of everyone’s league. Especially the coach’s. Tony was probably regretting turning his chair around.

“I’ll go”

The boy’s head snapped up. There was a chubby, black and very beautiful man standing in the center. The guy looked around and picked up a ukulele, then looked at everyone, smiling. He was probably nervous as well.

His voice wasn’t as perfect as Peter thought it was going to be, but his skills with the ukulele were extraordinary. And just like that, the evening went by really quickly, full of different kinds of talent.

Peter looked around as the last contestant before _he_ had to go performed. He now knew little details about his team, and they didn’t feel so distant and faceless as they did at the start. He even wondered if maybe he looked just as intimidating to the others.

To sum up, the ones to beat were Carla, the girl who sung first, Georgia, who was the small girl that was following Tony, David, the black guy with the ukulele, and Trina and Samuel, the twins that apparently had enough talent on their own to compete as individuals.

The other ones were Christine, a voluptuous woman that had amazing voice control, Fabian, a Spanish dude that rapped (and not very well in Peter’s opinion), Nina, a Korean girl that looked like she could seriously turn Peter into a straight man, and Ted, Georgia’s brother, that basically put in doubt Tony’s skill to recognize talent.

And now, Peter was going to be in the spotlight. Getting judged by all of the people he had recently judged quietly. What if they all decided he wasn’t competition? What if they just brushed him off as the filler contestant?

He slowly walked to the center and looked around, analyzing the instruments momentarily before shyly walking towards the guitar and taking it in his hands. The piano’s chair was close, so, he pulled it to himself and sat down.

The first notes flopped, but then, he gained rhythm and before he even knew it, he was singing Photograph, by Ed Sheeran. The song itself was so soft that it just emanated off him easily, flowing around. He could feel everyone’s stare on him, but he couldn’t bring himself to care.

“Very good” exclaimed Tony from the back of the group with a very strong and imperative voice, as Peter returned the guitar to its place, making the young male’s ears turn red. _Nobody_ had gotten a compliment. 

“T-thank you”

The rest of the team looked at each other. They knew that after this, they would have to be paired with another member of the same team and compete against that person. Only one of them would stay in the competition and the loser would go home, which meant only five of them would carry on.

“I want to work with each alone now, and Peter, since you were last, I want you first” the man muttered, and Peter had to force himself not to think about the fact that the great Tony Stark had used the words ‘I want you’ and referred to him by name in the same sentence. Even if they meant something completely different.

Nevertheless, he nodded, looking down and playing with his hands as he waited for the rest of the contestants to leave the room. He was now alone with Tony, and his heart was beating embarrassingly fast. What was going on with him? Was this a crazy fan/celebrity moment? He was sure he admired the guy. Hell, he was his lock screen, but did he like him? Like, as a person? A romantic or (closer to the man’s reputation) sexual situation?

“Okay, first things first. I really like your voice, but I feel like you haven’t found your style yet. You sing Queen one day and the red headed guy the next. We need to get you on a path. We want the audience to feel like they know you. We want them to see you enter the stage and be like ‘ah, finally, some rock music’ or indie, or whatever the fuck you feel more comfortable with. We want you to be relatable”

Peter looked at Tony almost enthralled, his eyes glowing with emotion as the man spoke. He was such a talented person and Peter kept on feeling like he didn’t belong there. He had to give him an answer, though, so slowly, he said: “That’s the thing. I-I don’t think I have a style? I sing things that fit with my voice, but some songs from the same style don’t fit me- I…”

He would have said more, but Tony started to move towards the boy, making him back off until he was practically pinned against the piano. Tony was keeping his distance, though, and if you saw the situation from another angle, you could see that Peter had plenty of personal space, but for a boy that had been jerking off to the singer’s posters since he could remember, this was practically every single wet dream come to life.

_No. No. This is your boss._

“Well, that’s not true. You can’t sing them because you’ve taught yourself to believe you can’t”

“What do you mean?”

“Have you tried singing them?”

Peter thought about it. Well, yeah. There was a reason he had never tried to sing Adele on a stage. Every time he tried singing her at home… everything went to shit.

“Yeah, and they don’t sound good”

Tony moved his hand towards the back of his head and scratched his neck, sighing softly. He had an idea, but he didn’t want to force Peter into singing something he didn’t want to sing.

“What’s the song that doesn’t matter how many times you try, it just never goes well?”

Oh, that was easy. This song had given him so many panic attacks.

“Someone like you, by Adele”

“Then that’s what we’re singing” muttered the man as he approached the piano, pulling the chair to himself from where it was in the center of the room (after Peter’s performance), and sitting down, fingers on the keys, ready to start.

Peter was feeling every kind of shit. He didn’t like that song, it brought him awful memories of his classmates telling him he wasn’t good enough to sing it. And besides, the other contestants were literally a door away. If Peter was disgustingly bad, they would know. And maybe it was greedy, but he wanted to be considered good too.

“Are you ready?” insisted Tony, seeing the boy internally doubt himself, trying to get him out of his thoughts before it was too late.

He knew the consequences of thinking too much because he had been in that situation countless times, either watching young kids, or teenagers, or even adults doubt themselves towards failure. He knew he probably shouldn’t have one, but the man couldn’t deny that Peter was already one of his favorites. He had a clear devotion for the man (which was flattering for the old fucker that he was) and seemed way simpler than the rest. No narcissism, no ego, not even a little bit of pride, which is what annoyed Tony about Carla, for example. Peter was the complete opposite of her. She thought she was better than everyone else, and Peter… Peter didn’t think of anybody as better than others. Tony liked that.

And for that same reason, he didn’t want him to sabotage himself. He wanted him to have a real shot at this, and if Tony was even half of the amazing coach they made him out to be, then he was going to prevent Peter from doing that to himself.

Tony started slow, playing the first few notes from the song, tempting Peter into coming closer and singing. Soon enough, the boy walked towards the piano (he had gotten away from it when the man had mentioned the song) and slowly leaned on it, observing as his coach repeated the intro again, giving Peter multiple times to start.

_“I heard, that you're settled down_

_That you found a girl and you're, married now”_

The start was a little shaky, not hitting the notes right where he had to, but at least he was trying. His eyes were closed now, desperately avoiding the man’s gaze, which he knew would catch him off guard again and make him lose every single bit of voice control.

“Louder, Peter” ordered the man, playing the piano a little softer.

_“I heard, that your dreams came true_

_I guess she gave you things_

_I didn't give to you”_

This part was easy, and Peter wasn’t really scared of it. The part the boy really wanted to run away from was the chorus. Those changes and high’s and low’s had him shitting himself quicker than a horse on laxatives.

Tony’s fingers were getting progressively slow, the music coming out of the piano in a whisper, which was practically forcing Peter into singing a little louder, otherwise, he was going to lose his voice in the music.

_“Old friend, why are you so shy_

_Ain't like you to hold back_

_Or hide from the light”_

As soon as Peter finished that sentence, Tony sighed and moved aside on the chair, letting a little spot on it, which he pointed at with his head, signing for Peter to come and sit down. The boy obediently moved towards the man and shyly sat down; his eyes focused on his hands as he sang the next part.

_“I hate to turn up out of the blue uninvited but I_

_Couldn't stay away I couldn't fight it”_

The last three words were so soft, that Tony stopped playing. “You’re not trying” he hissed. He knew that the boy was special and that he had talent, but Tony was everybody’s coach, and he couldn’t stay longer with Peter because the guy had trust issues. It sounded awfully rough, but he didn’t need another favoritism scandal.

Peter’s eyes watered. He didn’t want to make Tony mad at him, but he also knew he had anxiety. Diagnosed. And even though he didn’t want for it to be the limit, he knew that eventually, it would get the best of him. Like it did with every single thing that he was trying for.

“Mr. Stark… I know it’s not an excuse but sometimes…” a small tear fell down his cheek, making the boy wipe it quickly with the back of his hand as he got more and more frustrated with himself and his inability to do things like a normal human being. “Sometime my brain gets the best of me”

The man observed the kid as he broke in front of him. It wasn’t an act, and it definitely wasn’t to get out of the situation. As a matter of fact, it was getting Peter into a situation that he didn’t want to be in. Nobody wanted to be weak.

Tony closed the piano’s fallboard and moved closer to the boy, putting a hand on his upper back and rubbing on a soothing way, making Peter jump slightly at the new sensation. Fuck. He was crying and Tony Stark was consoling him with an incredible amount of patience. This was supposed to be a relieving moment, and yet, Peter wanted to hug him and tell him that he loved him. Once again, the crazy fan in him attacked.

He kept himself together, though, steadying his breathing until he could feel his heart beat up at a normal pace again. Only then, he groaned: “I’m a failure”

“And here I was thinking that you could win the competition”

Peter frowned and looked up, swallowing thickly when he realized how close his coach actually was, their eyes fixated on each other’s, head’s almost at the same level. “You- you thought _I_ could win?”

“I still do”

“Me? The only person that showed up today in normal clothes and literally nothing interesting to say or…?”

The man scoffed and then a small laugh left his mouth. “Winners aren’t made out of expensive clothes, or expensive hairstyles, or how you appear to the world. Winners win because they have talent, which is what I believe you have, even when apparently you don’t seem to think so”

The way the words were floating out of Tony’s mouth made Peter’s head spin. He was saying so many nice things to him. That he had talent. _Talent_. Something he had always been told he lacked. His brain was shutting down, and in a moment of weakness, an utter mistake was made. Peter looked deeply into Tony’s eyes as the man probably was waiting for an answer, maybe even a thank you, and before he even knew it, the boy closed the distance between them and kissed him.

His lips were soft. Soft and creamy and Peter was completely lost in his world. The man hadn’t reacted, frozen. His eyes were wide open as he stared down at the boy plucking his lips and just- smashing them together.

Peter seemed to regain consciousness when he opened his eyes and he not only had Tony Stark staring back at him, but the man’s hands raised in the air, a sign of surprise. The boy pulled away immediately, his own eyes widening and his jaw dropping.

What. The. Fuck.

To be completely honest, the kiss was more like a peck on the lips, and it had been way quicker than I made it out to be, but it had so many emotions involved, that a rich description seemed more fitting.

“Oh god, oh god, oh god, Mr. Stark, I’m so- so, so sorry!” the boy got out of him throat as he unwrapped himself in apologies, his body reacting before he had time to think about it. “I don’t know what happened. You- I’m so sorry, I-” he started picking up his stuff, turning to the door.

“Peter, wait!” hissed Anthony, finally taking in everything that had happened. Peter was now approaching the door with his ears so red that Tony was afraid he was actually going to pass out.

“No, uh, Mr. Stark, I’m sorry, I- you can… fire me? Is that the proper name? Yeah, uh, I’m sorry, bye!” the boy stuttered, as he stumbled with every single instrument in that room before leaving through the door, which was left swinging.

Tony looked around. The contestants outside of the room were looking at him expectantly, and Tony made the instant decision of calling Peter and well… think about it after he finished with everyone.

“Next!”

 

* * *

 

Peter was the dumbest boy on earth.

What _the fuck_ was he thinking? Kissing his boss?

Most importantly, was he thinking _at all?_

His head spun, his heart stammered, and he really didn’t want to go back there the next morning.

He knew that he was probably facing a text that said that he was out of the competition (if not, a lawsuit), but still, if he didn’t get it, he was still obligated to go. He growled and pulled the covers up, covering his head with it, the light of the street getting way too annoying.

It was already past midnight and Peter had been laying on his bed for five hours straight, trying really hard to explain to himself how exactly he got stuck in that situation, and searching for the best way possible to tell May, hopefully leaving a few details behind.

Meanwhile, on a much expensive bed, Tony Stark was laying, his eyes glued to the ceiling, and his mind stuck on Peter. The boy with too much talent for his age and not enough common sense for… a human being. God, that had been stupid.

Okay, so, he could understand the obsession, and he actually liked it. It made him feel young and desirable, but it’s not like he ever thought the boy would actually act on them. That required some balls Tony didn’t know Peter had.

He sighed, moving a little on his own bed, seeking for a cold spot that could maybe cool him off, and then ran his hands through his hair, biting his lower lip with anxiety. He had called Peter nine times (well, the secretary had) to inform him that he wasn’t out of the competition for fighting with Tony (that’s what he had told her so she wouldn’t, you know, call the police), but Peter hadn’t answered any of them and now Tony truly didn’t know what to do.

The way he saw it, there were only two possible outcomes. Either Peter sucked away his pride and showed up the next day, or he didn’t, which would mean for Tony to go look for him. He had made mistakes in his life as well, and he couldn’t let someone like Peter lose every opportunity just for being… stupid.

That’s when he remembered that he had Peter’s number on his phone, and texting, even though it was a little extreme, was an option. He rolled out of bed and grabbed his phone off the nightstand, too anxious to stay put. His fingers clicked away on the little screen, and as soon as the message was written, he hit send, regretting it three seconds after he did so. _“Peter, this is Tony Stark…”._ Great fucking beginning, as if the obsessive boy didn’t have his number saved already. _“… I need to speak to you. Can you meet me one hour before the rest of the team gets there? Kind regards, Tony”_

The message said received, and two minutes later, read. Tony’s heart quickened and he had to stop himself from thinking about it too much. There was nothing there. Nothing. He hadn’t felt a thing when he kissed him.

Right? Right.

Surprisingly, the three dots didn’t appear. Tony didn’t know, though, that Peter was currently hiding under the blankets because he could feel his own face light up and he didn’t feel like exposing himself. He was blushing over a text message. Could he be any more childish? He sighed, the amount of different things Tony could say to him, which would all most likely end badly, crossing the boy’s mind as he debated whether to answer or not. The command was clear, and Peter was going to comply, but he wanted to talk to him now, not face to face, and maybe that’s why he wanted to text him back.

“I’m really sorry, Mr. Stark. I didn’t think about what I was doing”. No, that was horrible. “I’m just so in love with you and I’m really touch starved, I’m sorry”. That was pathetic. He finally decided to send the emoji of the thumbs up. He got it. He was going. They were talking. Tony read it the second Peter sent it and that made his heart skip a beat. Tony was waiting for a response (well, either that or he had left his phone resting on the nightstand without noticing it was still open on Peter’s convo).

To say that that night they slept anxiously was an understatement.

 

* * *

 

Hyperventilating.

Peter was hyperventilating. His heart was racing with every second that he got closer and closer to the studio, and his hands were sweating like they were made of pig’s skin. He could feel his own face red as a tomato, and he hated himself for the state that he was in. Which teenager didn’t know how to control themselves by now?

He took his headphones off and stuffed them into the backpack that he was holding, then closed his eyes and took a deep breath before knocking on the door. It was 7am, and nobody had gotten there yet. Tony probably asked him to meet him at that time for that very same reason. Nobody had to listen to the conversation they were going to have, especially when it involved a kiss, an adult and a teenager. It could all go really wrong really fast.

Before Peter had any time to continue his line of thought, the door opened, and a very handsome, very… enthusiastic Tony Stark appeared. His hair was messy and that gave off the vibe that he hadn’t slept very well, if not at all, and his clothes looked like they were the first thing Tony found in the morning before coming to the studio. He had a cigarette hanging from his right hand and his left hand on the door frame. He looked at Peter up and down and smiled. “Come in” he muttered and turned around, walking back inside, leaving Peter not only there to rot, but there to try and not get a fucking erection. Tony Stark relaxed was the sexiest thing he had ever seen in his entire natural life.

He sucked in a breath and slowly walked inside, closing the door behind him and trying to leave aside the fact that this looked like the start of a cheap porno.

The bag that he had was extremely heavy and he was trying to figure out how he had managed to walk all the way from his house to the studio without feeling like his back was falling off. Maybe he was just too nervous to notice. He dropped it on the floor carefully, because his computer was inside and then looked up to see that Tony was sitting at the piano with a glass of some alcoholic liquid in his hand. He didn’t look worried. He didn’t look mad. If Peter was honest, he looked drunk.

The man suddenly locked eyes with him and bit his lip, then took a sip of his glass and left it on top of the piano. “You okay?”

The question itself was dumb. No. He was not fucking okay. He was about to grab his little ass and throw himself out the window, and he would have done that already if he didn’t now that the studio was on the first floor and he would probably just end up with a broken rib and a bruised arm. Also, there were no fucking windows.

“Yes, are you?”

Tony stared, and Peter was slapping the shit out of himself with a chair inside his mind. Obviously, Tony was fine. He hadn’t made any mistakes. He hadn’t kissed his teacher, his tutor, his mentor. He hadn’t done anything wrong. Either way, the man had the decency of replying anyway:

“Yes, Peter, I am. Thank you”

Silence.

Was there more to say? Should Peter just grab his things and sit in the corner of the studio to wait for the rest of the team without saying anything so he could let Tony work on whatever he was working on? He felt like such a burden.

The man stared at him more and then looked at the piano. “Here, come sit with me” he muttered, patting the empty space next to him. Peter hesitated but complied anyway, walking shyly and sitting next to the man, trying his best not to smell him. That fucking smell that had him swooning the first time he ever got close to him in the stage.

That stage. He _ached_ to be on that stage again. He didn’t want to give up. He didn’t want to give up everything that he had been working on because he decided to kiss his teacher.

Once again, though, his line of thought was interrupted, but this time, it was because of a melody. Tony’s fingers were dancing on the piano, and it suddenly struck him. The song Tony was playing was “Happy Together” and he was expecting him to sing. Now.

_“Imagine me and you, I do_

_I think about you day and night, it's only right_

_To think about the girl you love and hold her tight_

_So happy together”_

His voice was a little shaky even though the start of the song was pretty monotonous.

_“If I should call you up, invest a dime_

_And you say you belong to me and ease my mind_

_Imagine how the world could be, so very fine_

_So happy together”_

The chorus was getting close, and Peter sat up straight, looking down at the piano, trying to concentrate on the entrance.

_“I can't see me lovin' nobody but you_

_For all my life_

_When you're with me, baby the skies will be blue_

_For all my life”_

“Yes!” screamed Tony, getting a little quicker and doing the second voice. Peter felt like he was in a tv show, and he couldn’t help but smile as well. Tony was having fun with him.

_“Me and you and you and me_

_No matter how they toss the dice, it had to be_

_The only one for me is you, and you for me_

_So happy together”_

To be honest, the song wasn’t really the best choice, but it was just so fun. It was easygoing, and their duet could only be described as beguiling.

_“I can't see me lovin' nobody but you_

_For all my life_

_When you're with me, baby the skies will be blue_

_For all my life”_

“Give it to me, Peter” whispered the man as he played faster, a smile plastered on his face, which only made Peter want to give it to him. Everything in him.

_“Me and you and you and me_

_No matter how they toss the dice, it had to be_

_The only one for me is you, and you for me_

_So happy together_

_Ba-ba-ba-ba ba-ba-ba-ba ba-ba-ba ba-ba-ba-ba_

_Me and you and you and me_

_No matter how they toss the dice, it had to be_

_The only one for me is you, and you for me_

_So happy together_

_So happy together”_

Peter’s voice vanished slowly, finishing the song with a dramatic connotation, Tony following him right behind with the piano, stopping with a faint chuckle. Peter’s heart was in his throat and he was breathing heavily. Then, he dared to look up to his mentor and had to physically stop himself from running away when he realized he was already looking back at him.

“That was… really amazing, Peter”

He was at a loss of words. He could only stare at him. He could feel his own hands starting to sweat again, his stomach making back flips as he tried to mentally understand how the best musician of all times was complimenting him. _Him_. Someone that was worth absolutely nothing. Someone that nobody knew, and nobody cared about.

Suddenly, Tony’s face was getting closer, and his eyes could only widen as those fine lips that had caused him so much internal and real trouble pressed against his own. His eyes closed automatically, as if trying to take a mental picture (but made of feelings) of something that he certainly never thought could happen again. He could smell, _taste_ the alcohol in the man, but he didn’t want to bring it up, risking his mentor to pull away.

His hands, that were hiding under his thighs, came up to hold Tony’s face close, pull him even closer to him. Apparently, that was enough to send Tony back to reality, who pulled away with the same wide eyes that Peter had the day before when he had done the exact same thing. He was unable to talk, but with his eyes, he was reassuring Tony that it was okay. That he wanted it.

What exactly did he want? He didn’t know.

“We- we can’t” whispered the man, as if anybody was going to hear them. “I can’t take advantage of you”

That was a fine sentiment, but it was incorrect. Tony wanted this as much as Peter did, otherwise, he would have stood up, ran away, kicked Peter out or something among those lines, but no. He was sitting there, looking at the boy that he had just kissed, staring at his lips while wetting his own. Peter hands were now on Tony’s knee, and the boy could feel the warmth emanating from him.

An unknown confidence overtook Peter, who was extremely aware that if he didn’t take the matter into his hands, then he was going to lose the opportunity. He was going to lose Tony. The only good thing in his life right now.

His hands slowly but surely went up, tangling on Tony’s hair and resting on his neck. The gesture wasn’t forceful, but it was indicative. He was telling him _what_  he wanted. How he wanted it. He was telling him that it was now or never, and the man finally took the hint.

He closed the distance between them and kissed him, a rough movement overflowing their mouths. Asking for consent at this point was ridiculous, but he did it anyway, crossing his tongue over Peter’s lower lip. The boy moaned and opened his mouth, letting him in immediately.

Tony’s hand, that had remained hidden up until that point, reached forward and grabbed the boy by the waist, making him gasp. The touch itself sending him over to another dimension. He wanted Tony. He needed Tony. His body reacted almost automatically, and the boy did something he never thought he could do. He slowly stood up and walked closer to the man without breaking the kiss, only to put one leg on each side and straddle him, a faint and nervous grind coming alive.

Peter bit his lip at the new sensation, pulling away momentarily from the man, his throat letting out a pleading sound.

Tony was in awe. He was looking at Peter enraptured. He had never seen someone so beautiful behave in such a willing and submissive way. His hands gripped his waist tighter, scared that if he didn’t, then he was going to leave. His neck was exposed, and his head was thrown back at the minimum feeling of pleasure, and Tony yearned to destroy him. He wanted to leave hickeys all over his body and mark him as if he was his. But he knew he _couldn’t._

The boy moved again, this time a little harder, their bulges pressing against each other. “Tony…”. His hands tangled more into his hair and he pulled slightly, testing the waters. He was an inexperienced virgin, but he knew what he wanted, which is more than the rest of the virgins can say (well, he hoped, considering that that was the only leverage he had).

“Holy shit”

Peter felt exposed at that comment and he opened his eyes, blushing almost immediately and looking down. He would have never admitted it, but he felt guilty for enjoying things. His life had taught him that he didn’t deserve them, and that other people thought so too.

His hands let go of his hair and he locked eyes with him, mistaking bewilderment by mockery. “I’m sorry- you don’t- you don’t want this… I-”

“What? Yes, I do”

Peter bit his lip and blinked two times when he realized he was not the only one with an erection, and he could feel that the erection he was pressed against was very large. His heart quickened. What if they ended up actually doing this? What if he didn’t fit? What if Tony laughed at his body? What if he was not at the same level as the other sexual partners that Tony Stark had had?

“I’m getting the feeling that you’re the one who doesn’t want this”

Peter frowned. “I- I do”

“Do you want me because you want _me_ or because you want Tony Stark?”

Peter’s frown deepened. The man was laughing about it, but that was probably one of his biggest fears. Just like Peter was afraid of not appearing sexy enough, or experienced enough, Tony was scared that nobody would want him because of him, and Peter didn’t know how to make him believe him that he wanted the person behind the name, not the name.

“I’ve admired Billy Ray Cyrus all my life, just like I- I have you, and I would _never_ let him put his dick in me” mumbled the boy, trying really hard not to succumb to the physical pleasure of sitting on top of his boss, letting his brain not mind his explicit words.

“Kinky” joked the man, running his hands up and down Peter’s back, enticing him into moving more, his heart speeding at the thought of having him bent against the piano and entering him over and over again, until he permanently damaged those talented vocal cords. “Are you sure, though? I saw you rethinking the situation there for a moment”

Peter bit the inside of his cheek. Tony already had a lot on his plate, and he probably didn’t want to have to handle some kid’s insecurities. Still, the smile the man was giving him was knowing and reassuring, and he would have never forgiven himself if he didn’t say anything. “I might not be as… hot or _whatever_ as your other, uh… sexual partners”

There was a moment of silence, and the young boy could have sworn he saw regret in Tony’s eyes. He didn’t know, though, that it was not what he was thinking.

Suddenly, Peter’s line of thought was cut right through the middle, when the man declared in a very rough voice: “I’m going to fuck all of those insecurities out of you”

To say that Peter gulped as he felt a shiver go down his spine was an understatement. He had never been equally horny and scared. He just wanted to do whatever the man ordered, and follow every one of his rules, and if they had time, which was a stretch, blow him until he was milked. “yes, sir”

Anthony laughed, closing his eyes as wrinkles formed in the corner of them, embracing Peter and his fear, then opening them slowly. “We don’t have much time, though, Petey baby, so why don’t you strip for me?”

Peter looked to the side, his face heating up rather quickly. He obeyed with a low sigh and stood up and looked to the floor, where all the instruments laid, waiting for someone to decide to play them. He smiled at the memory of his audition, and slowly took the hem of his shirt and started pulling it up, some piano notes distracting him.

Tony was playing ‘Someone like you’. Peter turned around as he threw his shirt to the ground and started fumbling with his belt. “Really? Classy”

“I’m trying to get you in the mood” mocked the man, accelerating when Peter unzipped his pants. The young male couldn’t help it but smile. He could vividly imagine what it would be like to be with him always, to have a relationship with him, to be his boyfriend, his husband even. It was surreal, yet very plausible. Well, maybe not for Peter. The teenager, the singer.

When he had disposed every bit of his clothes, and he was standing there, practically naked, he looked down at the man again, who seemed to have gotten lost in the music he was producing. “Tony” he called, covering his genitals with his hands.

The man let go of the keys and slowly turned around in the chair, his eyes expanding and dilating as they took in every inch of porcelain skin that Peter had. He gathered his will and stood up, walking towards him and taking him by the waist, utilizing one hand to retire Peter’s extremities from the price. Once he did, his eyebrows raised. “You’re, uh… equipped”

“Oh, God, Tony…”

“Hey, I’m kidding! I don’t say ‘equipped’, but you are. Still, I’m the one fucking you, alright?”

“Didn’t have any complaints about that” muttered embarrassed the teenager, a faint red spreading through his cheeks and neck, his palms sweaty and his hair sticking to his forehead. He wanted to do this so badly, but at the same time, he wanted it to be over. Not _over_ , over, just like… be in the moment where he had already done it, so maybe his heart wouldn’t be running around like it needed a speeding ticket.

Before Peter could say anything else, their mouths were united again, but this time it was passionate, desperate even. Peter clung to Tony as if his life depended on it, and the man was slowly getting rid of his clothes on the way, moving towards the piano. He promised himself he was going to fuck him there, and that was exactly what he was about to do.

His hands traveled down to take his ass, squeezing it until he got a moan from Peter, his back arching. “Do you want it, darling?”

“Oh, Mr. Stark, you don’t know how much” he whispered as he was turned around, his ass now wiggling against Tony’s clothed erection, the keys on the piano stabbing his tummy slightly. “I’ve needed you for so long, I can’t believe it’s happening”

“Oh, honey, it is. And you’re going to feel it for days”

Peter wasn’t really sure how, but the musician had gotten somehow a bottle of lube and had coated his fingers with it. He slowly circled Peter’s hole, entering one finger slowly, telling him over and over to relax. He listened, and by the time the third finger was inside, Peter was reduced to a moaning mess, trying desperately to maintain a grip to reality by not letting go of the piano.

He was drooling all over the instrument, biting the inside of his cheek not to scream when the strong fingers were replaced with Tony’s thick cock. Peter hadn’t even seen this monster dick and he already had it inside, tearing him open. The young singer felt like he was being split in half.

“T-Tony… be-be careful, please” begged Peter, holding onto his hair and the piano simultaneously as the man waited for Peter’s body to adjust. It did faster than the musician thought it would, and once they were in the right track, the pace he set was… not exactly careful.

He was pounding inside the boy over and over again, hitting his prostate with every thrust, making the boy sound like a very needy little girl. The man covered his lover’s mouth as he thrusted even deeper, skin slapping against skin.

Peter accidentally put his hands on the keys, and they sounded horrible, but they were muffled by moans and groans. Tony was close. Peter was following suit.

“Mr. Stark… I’m going to come” warned the boy, one hand traveling down and taking his own member, jerking himself off, his eyes focused on the clock on top of the wall. They had about five minutes before some very competitive people walked in.

“Come for me, baby boy”

Peter obliged, screaming almost at the top of his lungs. Tony filled Peter’s little hole with the devil’s sin and pulled away before having the chance to ride their orgasms. It was too dangerous, and he could already feel the other’s steps.

Peter had barely any time to recover before Tony was already dressed up again, one simple kiss to his head was all the courage he received before strong hands took him by the hips and made him stood up, leaving him to stand on his own shaky legs.

“Common, Peter, you look… ravished”

Fucking hell.

“R-really, Tony?”

The man winked before opening the door and stepping outside, two contestants already about to knock.

 

* * *

 

Days went by and the competition moved forward. Various were eliminated, but challenge after challenge, Peter managed to stand up from the crowd and stay, making his way slowly to the crown, earning his boss’ respect and his adversaries’ envy.

Every day, every throne and every accomplish was rewarded with Tony’s entire devotion, either long make out sessions, or homecooked meals, or rough sex, or hours and hours of movies tucked into Tony’s master bed, both caressing each other while Peter wondered how in hell had he gotten so lucky to have this man by his side. Whatever their definition was.

Peter learned a lot, and after a few months, he was easy describable as wiser. Tony was the epitome of not only wisdom, but experience, and if he said he had ever met someone more charismatic than him, he would have been lying.

At the same time, Tony felt like a kid again. Having that kind of energy and happiness and excitement about life hanging around most days changed his perspective in life, and soon, he was wishing again. Truth be told, he had never felt more alive.

Slowly, love flourished, and they could both affirm that they were spiraling into falling madly in love for each other, but it wasn’t easy. Tony was one of them most famous persons in the whole world, and they couldn’t afford to have a scandal about his teacher taking him home after hours, because rumors were hard to get rid of, especially when you’re dealing with people whose work is to make your life a living hell. So, all things stated, they had their routine. It wasn’t perfect or ideal, but it worked, and Pepper, Tony’s assistant, was predominantly cautious.

Technically, it would’ve been selfish to aspire for more. Still, Peter ached in his heart to take his hand in public, or to run to him and give him the biggest smooch after he won a challenge, or even simpler than that. Have dinner with him at a restaurant, not even a fancy one (McDonalds would’ve done the job just perfectly).

He didn’t need jewelry, he didn’t need gifts, he didn’t need expenses, but Tony gave him all of that and more, and an intricate man with a purpose wasn’t exactly easy to combat.

May was the only person outside they inner circle that knew about their relationship. She wasn’t really on board with it due to the age gap, but the way Peter smiled… meant that she had done her job, and as long as Peter was happy and safe, Aunt May was going to dodge any rumors and keep them both under her wing. Besides, that cute Pepper honey his nephew’s boyfriend had as an assistant was truly an eye candy and a woman loved to stare.

All ‘falling in love’ aside, they sure had their fights, because having the mind of a teenager was always going to piss off a man whose entire definition was: ‘had to grow up too fast’, so, one morning, after cuddling in bed for around fifty minutes, Peter finally came clean about missing three classes that week so he could be with him. Tony snapped pretty quickly.

“Do you have any sense of responsibility?” screamed the man, walking into the kitchen. Peter followed suit.

“Do _you?_ Who’s the man that barely eats and doesn’t know another liquid besides whiskey?”

“Oh, yeah, attack mt alcoholism, how mature”

“Are you really saying that right now? Don’t you recognize a gesture of love when you see one? You think I skip class to sleep?”

The man turned around after pouring the coffee, the mug hot in his hand and some steam coming out of the top of it. Peter realized his mistake three seconds after saying it, and his face reddened.

“Love” mocked the man, a faint hint of sarcasm in his voice. Peter rolled his eyes and leaned in the counter, watching as Tony looked through the refrigerator to try and find something.

“Who’s the child now? You want me to act like an adult, right? Like the stable, tax-doing, money-earning adult that _you_ are? Oh _wait_ , you’re only one of those”

“I’ll have you know” started Tony, an old sandwich that looked moldy as fuck in his hand, “I’m one of the most famous persons in the world, so… I do my taxes”

“Don’t eat that” ordered the young man. “And I’ll have you know that I’m aware Pepper’s the one who does most of the work here. Also, you’re not as famous as James Charles”

The man threw the sandwich in the trash and went back to the fridge, squatting down. Peter rolled his eyes again and walked to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll cook you something”

Tony grunted and slowly stood up. “Are you going to miss any more classes today?”

“Depends on how fucking hungry you are”

The face his boyfriend made had Peter annoyed again in seconds. “It was a joke. I’m sorry your annoyingly grown up ass doesn’t know how to recognize one”

Tony growled and walked away from the fridge, letting the boy do whatever he wanted with the little food he had in stocking. He typed away in his phone, an awkward silence hanging over the room until he snapped again. “Ha! I’m more famous than James Charles according to this pole I did on Instagram”

Peter turned around with two eggs in his hand, squinting at the musician. “Do you know how incredibly annoying you are?”

“Do you have any idea how incredibly domestic you look right now?” fired back Peter’s boss. “And by the way, who the _fuck_ is James Charles?”

The young singer cracked the two eggs in a pan and looked back again. “So, you did a pole on Instagram about who, of the two of you, was more famous, and you don’t even have the decency to look him up?”

“Well, who do I have to ask?”

Peter smirked to himself. “Ask Tati”

But before Tony could reply with some stupid line, Peter’s phone started ringing, flooding with messages. The owner of the phone looked over his shoulder and saw Tony’s eyebrows raised. “Why don’t you look it up, big boy? Considering you’re so needed today”

The snarky comment ran past Peter, who turned down the fire and walked over to the counter, cleaning his hands of the excess of oil in his fingers in the barely tied around his waist apron. He then grabbed his phone and started going through it.

“Is it your side piece?” joked the man, but at Peter’s utter silence, he frowned and slowly walked towards him, putting his hand on Peter’s lower back as he read the message from a blocked number.

_‘I know what you and Stark are doing. Bring me 30,000 dollars and we’ll talk about my silence’_

 “What-” started Tony.

Speedily, Peter’s world came crushing down, and the weight of the realization of what he had been doing for around three months fell into his shoulders. He covered his mouth as his eyes started to water, trying to figure out who this could be.

A second message appeared on the screen, and two pairs of eyes focused on it.

_‘P.s: sleeping with your boss is illegal, especially in the type of competition that we’re in’_

 Tony grabbed the phone from Peter and looked at it intensely.

_In the type of competition that we’re in_ , thought Peter. I’m competing with the person that’s blackmailing me.

“I’m going to kill this person” hissed the man, fire coming out of his ears. “I’m going to send the police, or worse, Steve Rogers, and I’m going to-”

“What we’re doing is illegal!” screamed Peter, a tear rolling down his cheek. “He can send the cops as well, Tony. I- I think we should pay him”

“First of all, Peter, this is a woman. No guy would’ve been that smart. To know that we’re together… you have to analyze our behavior. The way we look at each other, maybe even the way the schedules and the times don’t match. They’d have to notice the subtle change of clothes, or the way I get way more excited when you win than when another one of my kids do. This is a woman”

Peter sighed, covering his face with his hands. “I don’t care, Tony. Either way, they can send you to jail and kick me out of the competition”

“Nobody’s doing any of those. Peter, don’t worry. Just-”

“Tony! let’s just pay them. I- I really don’t want to face the consequences”

“You’re not giving that asshole anything. Not even a single coin”

The boy was crying now but had to rapidly make his way towards the pan since the eggs were sizzling and spurting oil all over the counter. He turned the fire off and turned the eggs around, finishing them, then put them in the plate that was next to him, faint tears falling down his eyes.

Tony’s blood was boiling. Who could have such a need to win to do this? Tony wanted Peter to win, but he didn’t want to so badly that he’d blackmail another contestant. He put the phone down, the yellow phone case looking rather unfitting for the situation, and slowly wrapped his arms around the boy’s waist, pulling him back, trying to smear his smell on him, make him feel better by knowing that he’s safe, that Tony was going to protect him no matter what.

“I’ll give you the thirty thousand if that’s what you want”

Peter nodded and lowered his head, leaning into the touch. “I just- I’ll pay you back”

That earned him a soft laugh from his boyfriend. “You don’t have to”

“But I want to, I can work- I can…”

“Pay me by winning this stupid competition and not giving up at the slightest inconvenience”

The boy scoffed and turned his body to face the man. “You call blackmailing a _slight_ inconvenience?”

“Well” started the man, taking the plate of eggs from behind his lover, “when they’re only asking for thirty thousand, yes. This person was smart enough to figure out our secret, but they have absolutely no sense of reality when it comes to how much money I have, hence, how much money you can get out of me, or _from_ me, if we scratch stealing from the list”

“I would never steal from you” muttered Peter, a little hurt. He thought he made that clear when they first started hanging around. He never wanted the name; he wanted the man behind the name.

“I know”. Tony gave Peter a small peck on the lips and then untangled himself from his boyfriend, sitting down on a small stool and eating the eggs faster than Peter ever saw somebody eat.

“I’m going to go to class”

“Finally” replied the man, mouth full of food. He opened his arms to let Peter in, not before he took off that disgusting apron, though. They hugged for what seemed like an eternity, the end of their timeline right around the corner. “I’ll see you in the studio at six”

“You’ll, uh, bring the… the money?”

The man nodded at the question. “But I’ll give it to you before we go in. We don’t need any more reason for anyone else to get suspicious and then have _ideas_ , because, what do I always say?”

Peter smiled, the first real smile. “Ideas in stupid people are dangerous”

Before Tony had time to reply, Peter disappeared through the main door. There was nothing else they needed to say to each other.

 

* * *

 

Walking back into the studio that afternoon felt wrong. It was a little before six, and he was there to get the cash from Tony, which he also felt terribly for. He had promised him he was going to pay him back, but truth be told, he had no way of doing so. Even of he worked his entire ass for many years, it would take time, and by the time he finally gathered the money, Tony was no longer going to be with him.

It stung deep in his heart to say that, but it was true. This… it was all momentarily. The rush and the passion for their shared love for music had opened the possibility of an affair, but when Peter was eliminated, well, that would be over.

“Tony?” he asked shyly, walking into the main room, leaving his bag on the floor, which fell with a thud. The man called for him from the recording room, and so he walked over, low energy. Walking into his own trap was never fun, especially when he was aware of it.

But as soon as he entered the room, his heart stopped. Tony had cornered a guy and taken him by the shirt, lifting him up, their faces almost pressed together, but very differently than what he had known of proximity with the guy.

“Tony? What the hell? Who’s this?”

“This scum… is your blackmailer” and when he was done with the phrase, he threw him to the floor, making him fall over a long flute that had been strategically placed. “Caught him sneaking in beforehand and going through my stuff, probably looking for the little paycheck he ordered”

Peter was both in shock and in awe. He had no idea how Tony had come up with a plan so perfect that it had worked. He smiled through the bewilderment and looked back at his boyfriend, who still hadn’t cool off, his wrinkles giving off how incredibly angry he was.

“Confess or I’ll punch it out of you”

“Alright, alright!” confessed the boy, covering his head with his hands, trying to protect himself from the furious creature about to launch himself on top of him. “I’m the blackmailer… but you- you can’t do anything to me”

“Watch me” offered the man, already forming a fist with his hand.

“My sister is the woman in charge… I only handled the numbers. Peter, I- I’m sorry… we need the money, our mom is dying, and she can’t go to a hospital because she’ll get deported”

Peter’s heart was getting progressively soft, but Tony’s wouldn’t. “You think Peter doesn’t need money? His Aunt needs it, so, who the fuck are you to demand something from me? I can put you in jail over blackmailing, blaspheme and confession, which is being recorded by that camera” and then he pointed to the other corner of the room.

The guy laughed, but it was clearly a nervous laughter. “He has you! If he needs anything, he just needs to run to his boyfriend. Besides, I had no actual proof, you proved it yourself by gathering the money. You think I didn’t see the Big Money Bag laying over there? You could have put me away just for blackmailing, but if you went through the trouble of getting the money… that means we were right”

“I’m going to murder you” threatened the man, but was stopped by Peter, who extended his hand to put it over Tony’s arm.

“Let’s just give him the money. We’re helping his mother and getting rid of this horrendous accusation all in one. But you… you need to promise us that we’re not going to have more troubles, otherwise, I don’t respond for him”

The young male laying on the floor nodded, bobbing his head up and down, then glanced the bag with money.

“Take it” ordered Tony, rough voice as he clenched his fists. They were only thirty thousand, for a much bigger price to pay. “And tell your sister” ordered the man as the unnamed kid started to walk out, “that if she doesn’t retire from the competition, I’m turning her into the feds”

As soon as he had gone, Peter turned to the man, frown on his face. “Did you really have to do that? We were even, Tony! We were even and now you just un-evened the situation. She’s going to come back for us”

“No she won’t”

Bu she did, weeks later.

A few minutes before one of the biggest performances, where Peter was going to get pinned against pretty much every contestant, he heard the door of his trailer open, and after that, close behind whoever had just entered. Then it got locked.

“Peter Parker” a voice spoke, standing behind him. Peter was currently looking at himself in the mirror, so he could see her reflection. It looked like the climax of a horror movie, and Peter had the slight sensation that he was the victim.

Slowly, very slowly, he turned around, looking down. “My blackmailer, I assume”

“You can call me Cherry. I’m going to be known by that after I win this”

“You’ve got confidence” fired back Peter, folding his arms over his chest and looking at her with a determination worth of a god.

“No, I have a big ass confession that puts both your and your boss’ ass on the line. I’m guessing you don’t want to risk that, now, do you”

“And what is it that you want?” whispered the boy, afraid that someone was going to hear them, even though that was impossible due to the soundproof characterization that their trailers had. “You want more money?”

Cherry laughed, her smile big and toothy. It made Peter shiver. She looked strangely evil. “No, Peter, I want the same thing your boyfriend wanted me to do. Leave the competition. Or lose. Your choice. I’ll give you the one that has more honor to it. I’m that good”

Peter rolled his eyes. He knew this was going to come back to bite him in the ass. He had to be tough, though. He couldn’t afford to quiver. “He said what he said because he knew he could”.

“That was some serious world play right there, Parker. I guess what I’m trying to say is… I’ve got leverage. Do what I say, or you won’t be so lucky no more”

The singer didn’t have much else to say before she left, closing the door behind her and disappearing. He was in trouble. Decided what he decided; he couldn’t tell Tony. The man had already demonstrated that he reacted violently and impulsively. This was now on Peter’s hands and was entirely up to him.

He turned to face the mirror again, looking deeply into his own eyes. “Oh, Tony, I hope you understand. I love you with all my heart. This is just- what’s best for us”

The phone inside his trailer started ringing, and that meant it was showtime. There was no backing down now, no saving himself from this, no easy way out, no road ahead to escape. This was it.

 

* * *

 

“Welcome to the stage… Peter Parker!”

The announcer gave out his name and the crowd applauded, giving out everything in them. Tony had tricked them into believing in him for some reason. He was still the same simple boy, barely talented. He didn’t know how he got there, and it pained him terribly to know he had to give it up.

He gripped the microphone even tighter and signed to the management guy to wait a second. “Hey…” he started, his eyes wondering all over the room, so they didn’t focus on Tony’s eyes. “I have something to say, guys. I-”

“What the fuck is he doing?” asked Steve to Tony, leaning in a bit too much, the few drinks he had had finally kicking in.

Tony’s brain gathered information really fast, and the threads connected easily in his head. He took the microphone that was available for them and stood up, glancing momentarily to the other contestants, figuring out who was the blackmailer rather quickly by the way she looked at them. Uninterested.

“Don’t be so modest, Peter, we both have something to say”

The voice of his mentor resonated in the arena, confusing everybody. Peter’s heart started stammering. Whatever he was going to do, couldn’t be good. Natasha and Steve shared a look, already knowing. Wanda was confused.

“I’m retiring myself from judging today”

The whole crowd gasped, looking at each other, trying to find the reasoning behind the decision.

“Shh, calm down. I’m going to explain”. Silence slowly regained the arena. “Have you ever fallen in love? Well, I did as well. I didn’t want to admit it at first, mostly because of the many, many troubles it was bringing and could potentially bring”

The audience slowly started connecting dots, and they looked between Tony and Peter, back and forth, back and forth.

“But, having this person next to me made me realize every single one of them was worth it. Still, it wouldn’t be fair to you or the talented contestants that we have here today for me to judge. So, I, officially, want to say, here, in front of all of you. Peter Parker and I… we’re in love”

The crowd roared in both disgust and excitement, some people claimed they knew it, others started taking their stuff and leaving. The other three judges looked at Tony like they couldn’t believe their eyes.

Tony unhurriedly wrapped his arms around Peter, forcing him to show any kind of emotion. The poor guy was trying really hard to assimilate everything, but his little brain wasn’t letting him. When he finally had it in his arms, and the microphones were no way near their mouths, Tony whispered into Peter’s ear: “I looked it up. If I resign, then its not illegal. We’re going to have to come up with an excuse for the other three challenges I judged you in, though”

Peter didn’t care how many excuses he had to come up with, as long as he was with Tony.

They didn’t see the movements behind them, though, and the next thing they knew was that Cherry had the microphone and was ready to speak in front of everyone. “They’re lying!”

Everyone quieted down at the new interruption. “They don’t care about you, or me, or us, or being fair, for what matters! They’ve been together since the beginning, and y’all are letting it slip!”

Peter looked up at Tony. If they were going to come up with an excuse, it had to be now. And so, the man was ready to speak again, when a loud and angry voice was heard from the stage. Both Peter and Tony looked down immediately.

“You’re the one who’s laying. Peter was with me the whole time!”

Aunt May. Peter couldn’t help but smile. She didn’t lie when she said she was going to protect them.

“And Tony Stark was with me!” another voice shouted. All eyes on her. Pepper.

Natasha slowly stood up, looking between all of them. She walked towards the stage and took the microphone from Tony. “Cut the cameras” she ordered to management. They listened immediately. “Everyone. We’re going to let this go. Unfortunately, we can’t give Peter the first place, but if his performance is good, we can give him the second place. Anthony here will no longer be a judge. And the contestant Charry Thompson… We can let you win, either. In fact, would you mind coming with me for a second? There are some people behind curtains that want to speak with you”

“You don’t have any proof!” she screamed, walking back, getting away from Natasha.

“Oh, I might not, that’s true… but the police does”

Cherry’s jaw dropped, and then ran outside of the stage, where she was taken by the arms by two police officers. It was over, it was really over.

It had been Peter’s worse week. And now, not only did he have freedom again, but he had Tony. Finally.

“Now that peace is restored… we can move on to Peter’s performance. Tony, your chair will be taken by Sam Wilson”

The audience applauded, and Tony kissed Peter’s temple, then made his way towards the chair that Cherry had left empty, ready to listen to his boyfriend sing.

The song stated, and Peter had every reason in the world to sing his heart out.

_It was great at the very start_

_Hands on each other_

_Couldn't stand to be far apart_

_Closer the better_

Everyone cheered. He was good, he was really good. Tony could almost feel a tear.

_Now we're picking fights and slamming doors_

_Magnifying all our flaws_

_And I wonder why, wonder what for_

_Why we keep coming back for more_

_Is it just our bodies? Are we both losing our minds?_

_Is the only reason you're holding me tonight_

_Cause we're scared to be lonely?_

_Do we need somebody just to feel like we're alright?_

_Is the only reason you're holding me tonight_

_Cause we're scared to be lonely?_

Tony had trained him well. This was the end. Tony considered himself the proudest man in the world, and if he had to watch one thing the rest of his life, he would gladly pick Peter singing with this emotion.

_Too much time, losing track of us_

_Where was the real?_

_Undefined, spiraling out of touch_

_Forgot how it feels_

_All the messed-up fights and slamming doors_

_Magnifying all our flaws_

_And I wonder why, wonder what for_

_It's like we keep coming back for more_

_Is it just our bodies? Are we both losing our minds?_

_Is the only reason you're holding me tonight_

_Cause we're scared to be lonely?_

_Do we need somebody just to feel like we're alright?_

_Is the only reason you're holding me tonight_

_Cause we're scared to be lonely?_

It ended really nicely, and everyone was crazy about him. Tony could understand perfectly. It felt like a dream. He had practiced with him for so long, hearing his mistakes and ordering him to do it again, over and over again until they were both happy and secure.

It hadn’t been easy, and it almost destroyed their relationship, but at the end, it made it stronger. Tony smirked, his hands getting tired of applauding. It truly felt like god had finally put them in the right direction.

 

* * *

 

Peter laughed as he was dragged into the room by the waist, Tony gripping him tight and throwing him on the bed and then launching himself as well, falling right on top of Peter. “Tony! We have guests coming over soon!”

“I’m well aware, baby” whispered the man, fumbling with Peter’s zipper. “But I need to do this first”

It didn’t matter how many times they had done this already, for Peter, it always felt like the first time. His heart quickened, his palms started getting sweaty, his pupils dilated with anticipation, and his chest rose with heavy breaths.

The man made his way down Peter’s body, leaving small hickeys at every inch of uncovered skin he found. “My baby, my winner…”

“Technically, I was second place”

Tony looked up and fierce eyes met Peter’s, making him shut up immediately.

“My baby, my winner, my _fiancé_ ”

The word made Peter’s entire body tremble. He still remembered asking Tony to marry him, one late night, after being up for a little over twenty-four hours. He hadn’t gotten on one knee because he assumed Tony wasn’t going to like that, so he just offered the ring to him, nice and simple. His surprise was when Tony moved on the bed and from the nightstand got a small box, quite like Peter’s. Then he proposed as well.

They didn’t need to answer to each other, but they did, tattooing on their wrists the word: ‘yes’. It had been criticized online, but after two years, Peter couldn’t give more of a fuck. He was happy, and Tony’s true fans knew that.

Even after all they had gone through, the magic was there. Stronger than ever. And that’s why Peter decided to ask him to spend the rest of his life with him. He knew he was never going to love like he did with him (the only thing he refused to do was delete his fandom account and throw away all his posters. Those were sacred. Tony acted like they didn’t exist).

Now, as Tony’s head bobbed up and down, swallowing all of Peter’s beautiful cock, he could only whisper ‘I love you’s’ with sweet voice, gripping the sheets with unimaginable force, his head throw back in pleasure, his thighs getting bruised by Tony’s experienced and needy hands.

“I’m not- I’m not gonna last, Tony…” he warned, his back arching and his hips bucking, trying to find the perfect rhythm. He could feel Tony’s tongue dancing and his cock twitching every two seconds, until white streaks filled Tony’s mouth, a high-pitched moan coming out of that little slut’s mouth.

The bell rang.

Peter collapsed on the bed as Tony kissed the head of his cock, standing up. “I’m going to open up”

Peter nodded, and before Tony could leave the room, he spoke up. “And Peter?”, Peter raised his head. “Fix yourself. You look… ravished”

Fucking hell.

Not again

**Author's Note:**

> Credits for the amazing fanart that this fanfic has the honor of having goes to @iammagicfishhook on tumblr, whose page can be find in this link:  
> https://iammagicfishhook.tumblr.com/


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